Where’s the budget outrage, some lawmakers wonder

Where’s the outrage? House Democrats on the Appropriations Committee asked Thursday.

Not enough Texans understand the magnitude of billions of dollars worth of budget cuts, said Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

“I don’t think the business community gets it,” he said. “I don’t think the media fully comprehends the magnitude of this problem. I think the average Texan faces a disconnect.

Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio

“Unfortunately, many will get it when we leave here. Teachers are getting it now because they are losing their jobs,” he said.

Thousands of teachers will lose their jobs, and thousands of elderly folks will get booted out of nursing homes because of severe budget cuts, Turner said.

“At some point, it will dawn on folks that this problem is for real,” he said.

Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio believes a “rumbling” is only starting to shake up Texans.

He and other Democrats want the Senate to stand firm. Don’t bring up the budget without assurances that lawmakers will pull out at least $3 billion from the state’s Rainy Day Fund, they say.

It would be better for legislators to fail on adopting a budget before the regular legislative session ends on May 30, they say. Doing so would increase public awareness for the state’s budget problem and more focus for summer special session, Villarreal says.

The Senate budget cuts far less than the House plan. But the Senate budget still cuts public education by more than $5 billion and does not cover the cost of about 170,000 more school children, Villarreal said. The Senate budget still cuts higher education by some $2 billion, which will result in higher college tuition, he said. And it cuts health and human services by about $7 billion, which will force some nursing homes to close.

“There will be seniors – grandmas and grandpas – on the street. We have an obligation to do better,” Villarreal said.

Closing tax loopholes, ending tax exemptions and using the Rainy Day Fund could solve the state’s budget problems, Villarreal said.